is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. With a population of 265,684, it is the largest city in Yamaguchi Prefecture and the fifth-largest city in the

Chūgoku region The , also known as the region, is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In 2010, it had a population of 7,563,428. History '' ...

. It is located at the southwestern tip of

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

facing the

Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel (동수로 Dongsuro) is a channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The strait is the channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima ...

at the entrance to the

Kanmon Straits The or the Straits of Shimonoseki is the stretch of water separating Honshu and Kyushu, two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshu side of the strait is Shimonoseki (, which contributed "Kan" () to the name of the strait) and on the Kyushu ...

(also known as the Straits of Shimonoseki) across from the city of

Kitakyushu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuku ...

and the island of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

. It is nicknamed the " Fugu Capital" for the locally caught pufferfish, and is the largest harvester of the pufferfish in Japan.

History

The geographical position of Shimonoseki has given it historical importance. The Heike and Genji fought at Dan-no-ura near the present

Kanmon Bridge The (Asian Highway Network ) is a suspension bridge crossing the Kanmon Straits, a stretch of water separating two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshū side of the bridge is Shimonoseki (, which contributed ''Kan'' to the name of the s ...

. In February 1691, German explorer

Engelbert Kaempfer Engelbert Kaempfer (16 September 16512 November 1716) was a German naturalist, physician, explorer and writer known for his tour of Russia, Persia, India, Southeast Asia, and Japan between 1683 and 1693. He wrote two books about his travels. ''A ...

visited the town as part of his two-year stay in Japan, and described it as having around 400 to 500 houses, and as a major port in the region for supplying ship provisions. The

Bombardment of Shimonoseki The refers to a series of military engagements in 1863 and 1864, fought to control the Shimonoseki Straits of Japan by joint naval forces from Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and the United States, against the Japanese feudal domain of ...

occurred in 1864, and the

Treaty of Shimonoseki The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China and in the period before and during World War II in Japan, was a treaty signed at the , Shimonoseki, Japan on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China, ending the Firs ...

was signed there in 1895, seeing a defeated China hand over

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, Penghu, and Port Arthur to the victorious Japanese. An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Shimonoseki as an open port for trading with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

On February 13, 2005, Shimonoseki absorbed the towns of Hōhoku, Kikugawa,

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

and Toyoura (all from Toyoura District) to create the new and expanded city of Shimonseki. Since October 1, 2005, the city has been designated as a

core city In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city i ...

by the Japanese Government.

Climate

Shimonoseki has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa'') with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heavier in summer.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Shimonoseki in 2020 is 255,051 people. Shimonoseki has been conducting censuses since 1920.

Transportation

Ferries from Shimonoseki Port International Terminal

*The Kanpu ferry to

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

, South Korea regularly. *The Gwangyang Beech to

Gwangyang Gwangyang () is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Gwangyang city is the home of POSCO's Gwangyang Steel Works, the largest facility of its kind in the world. The city is also home to K League Classic football side Jeonnam Dragons. Gw ...

, South Korea regularly. *The Orient ferry to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, China regularly. *The Orient ferry to

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

, China was suspended in November 2015.

Trains

*The main

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...

station **

Sanyō Shinkansen , stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiaries and affiliates, and was founded by ...

***

Shin-Shimonoseki Station is a railway station on the San'yō Shinkansen and San'yō Main Line, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan. Lines Shin-Shimonoseki Station is served by the following JR West lines: * Sanyo Shinkanse ...

*The main

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, an ...

stations ** San'yō Main Line ***

Shimonoseki Station is a railway station on the Sanyo Main Line, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan. Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) and Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) services also use this station. The ...

*** Hatabu Station - Hatabu Station is a railway station on the San'yō Main Line and the San'in Main Line. ***

- Shin-Shimonoseki Station is a railway station on the Sanyō Shinkansen Line and the San'yō Main Line. *** Chōfu Station *** Ozuki Station **

San'in Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...

*** Hatabu Station *** Ayaragi Station *** Kajikuri-Gōdaichi Station *** Yasuoka Station *** Fukue Station *** Yoshimi Station ***

Umegatō Station is a West Japan Railway Company, JR West train station, railway station located in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Railway stations in Japan opened in 1914 Railway stations in Yamaguchi Prefecture Sanin Main ...

*** Kuroimura Station *** Kawatana-Onsen Station *** Kogushi Station ***

Yutama Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Yutama Station is served by the JR West San'in Main Line, and is located 645.7 ...

***

Ukahongō Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Ukahongō Station is served by the JR West San'in Main Line, and is located 64 ...

*** Nagato-Futami Station *** Takibe Station *** Kottoi Station ***

Agawa Station is a West Japan Railway Company, JR West San'in Main Line train station, railway station located in the Hōhoku, Yamaguchi, Hōhoku area of the city of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the West ...

*** Nagato-Awano Station

Buses

Regular bus services are provided by Sanden Kohtsu, as well as by group companies of Sanden Kohtsu. *Bus companies (A loop-line bus in the city.) ** Sanden Kohtsu Co., Ltd. ** Blue Line Kohtsu Co., Ltd. *Intercity bus services (arrival and departure in Shimonoseki city) go to the following destinations:

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

Fukuoka Airport , formerly known as Itazuke Air Base, is an international and domestic airport located east of Hakata Station in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Fukuoka Airport is the principal airport on the island of Kyushu and is the fourth busiest passenger ...

, etc.

Roads

Expressway

;

Chūgoku Expressway The (part of Asian Highway Network ) is an expressway in Japan, which extends from Suita, Osaka to Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. It connects Kansai and Chūgoku regions in western Honshu, Japan's main island. Other major cities along the expressway ...

*Shimonoseki interchange *Ozuki interchange

Bypasses

* Ozuki Bypass * Shimonoseki-Kita Bypass

National Highways

* National Route 2 * National Route 9 * National Route 191 * National Route 435 * National Route 491

Airports

Shimonoseki is served by four airports outside the city. * Kitakyūshū Airport *

Saga Airport is an airport in the Kawasoe area of Saga, Saga Prefecture, Japan. It also uses the unofficial name . Saga Airport is located on the edge of the Ariake Sea, in what is best called a polder, 35 minutes from JR Saga Station by bus. History ...

Yamaguchi Ube Airport is a domestic airport located southeast of Ube-Shinkawa Station, Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It is the westernmost airport on the island of Honshu, and is marketed as an alternative to the New Kitakyushu Airport for Yamaguchi prefectur ...

(only for domestic flights) *

Education

Universities and colleges

* (Yoshimi) * Shimonoseki City University (Daigaku-cho) * University of East Asia (Shin-Shimonoseki Station) *

Baiko Gakuin University is a private university in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1872, and it was chartered as a women's junior college in 1964. The school's emblem (a stylized plum blossom) and kanji name reflect the ...

(Higashieki) ** Baiko Gakuin University Women's Junior College (Shimonoseki) * Shimonoseki Junior College (Sakurayama-cho)

Primary and secondary schools

The city has a North Korean school, . It formerly housed two other North Korean schools, Yamaguchi Korean High School and . As a city of a quarter million people, it has some public schools too.

Culture

Festivals

Shimonoseki is home to many festivals that are held throughout the year. Of these, the most famous are the Shimonoseki Kaikyo Festival and Shimonoseki Bakan Festival. *Shimonoseki Fugu (Blowfish) Festival (February) : Haedomari Market *Kawatana Onsen(hot spring) Festival (April) *Shimonoseki Kaikyo Festival (May) :

Karato is the downtown area of the city of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Shimonoseki, Japan. It is known as the most famous sightseeing spot in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Main sightseeing spots and institutions ;Shops * SunLive Karato (Shopping center) * Kara ...

, Ganryujima Island *Suhouteisai Festival (August) : Castle town Chofu *Kanmon Kaikyo

Fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

Festival (August) :

(Aruka Port area) *Shimonoseki Bakan Festival (August) : Along the street from

-cho to

*TOUR de Shimonoseki (October/November) *Shimonoseki Kaikyo Marathon (November) *Shimonoseki Fish Festival (November) : Shimonoseki Fishing Port *Little

Fest (November) : Green Mall

Architecture

Kōzan-ji , officially , is a Buddhist temple of the Omuro sect of Shingon Buddhism in Umegahata Toganōchō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. Kōzan-ji is also known as Kōsan-ji and Toganō-dera. The temple was founded by the Shingon scholar and monk Myōe ( ...

- The butsuden completed in 1320 is a

National Treasure of Japan Some of the National Treasures of Japan A is the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (a special body of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scien ...

. *

Akama Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It is dedicated to Antoku, a Japanese emperor who died as a child in the Battle of Dan-no-ura (aka Dannoura), which occurred nearby in 1185. This battle was important in the hi ...

* Kaikyō Yume Tower

Museums

*Shimonoseki City Art Museum * Shimonoseki City Museum of History *Shimonoseki City Archaeological Museum *Shimonoseki Marine Science Museum (Shimonoseki City Aquarium) (''Kaikyo Kan'') *Doigahama Site Anthropological Museum *The firefly museum of toyota town *The of the

Yamaguchi Bank The is a regional bank in Japan, primarily in the Yamaguchi Prefecture. It has 156 branches and offices in Japan and four overseas offices. The bank's history dates back to 1878 when its predecessor, the Hyakuju (110th) National Bank was founde ...

Monuments

*The in Shimonoseki commemorates the final stage of the

Genpei war The was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself ...

between the feudal

Taira clan The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided ...

and

Minamoto clan was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the ...

(1180–1185). There is a historical monument with cannons.

Sports

Professional Teams

* FC Baleine Shimonoseki (

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

)

Sporting venues

*Shimonoseki

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Stadium *Shimonoseki

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

Stadium (Shimonoseki ''

Kyōtei The , literally "boat racing" and referred to as BOAT RACE, is a hydroplane racing event primary held in Japan. It is one of Japan's four , which are sports events where parimutuel betting is legal. Kyōtei was introduced in Japan in April ...

'') *Shimonoseki City

Gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational i ...

nasium *Shimonoseki Track and field stadium *Shimonoseki city

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

*Nogihama General Park (

stadium)

Crime and safety

The

Goda-ikka The is a yakuza group based in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Yamaguchi, Japan. It is a Yakuza#Designated boryokudan, designated yakuza group and Yamaguchi Prefecture's largest, with an estimated 60 members. History The group was formed in 1948 as the i ...

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

syndicate is headquartered in Shimonoseki. A designated yakuza group, the Goda-ikka is the largest yakuza syndicate in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Twin towns – sister cities

Shimonoseki is twinned with: * Santos, Brazil (1971) *

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Turkey (1972) *

, South Korea (1976) *

, China (1979) * Pittsburg (California), United States (1998)

Notable people

Kinuyo Tanaka was a Japanese actress and film director. She had a career lasting over 50 years with more than 250 acting credits, but was best known for her 15 films with director Kenji Mizoguchi, such as ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952) and ''Ugetsu'' (1953). W ...

Yūsaku Matsuda was a Japanese actor. In Japan, he was best known for roles in action films and a variety of television series in the 1970s as well as a switch to a wider range of roles in the 1980s. His final film appearance was as the villain Sato in Ridley ...

* Atsushi Tamura (Comedian, actor and singer)

References

External links

Shimonoseki City official website

Shimonoseki City official website
in other languages * * *
City Tourism Promotion Film
Shimonoseki City Official Channel {{Authority control Cities in Yamaguchi Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan